In his first-ever interview, the sole Australian survivor of the Waco siege has revealed to 60 Minutes what really took place during the 51-day stand-off, and why he believes crazed cult leader David Koresh will one day return to Earth as the son of God.

Federal parliament's final week for 2016

* WIN: The Senate gave the nod to legislation restoring the Australian Building and Construction Commission, albeit with a raft of horse-traded amendments. It was the second double-dissolution trigger bill Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has managed to guide through parliament since the July 2 election.

* WIN, JUST: In a minute-to-midnight moment, the Greens stepped in to back the government's plan for a 15 per cent backpacker tax on the proviso the initial 95 per cent clawback of superannuation contributions was reduced to 65 per cent. As well, the minor party garnered an extra $100 million in funding for Landcare.

* WIN: A new vocational student loans program, replacing the troubled VET FEE-HELP, cleared the Senate. From January, the number of courses eligible for loans is more than halved to about 350 and loans are capped at $5000, $10,000 or $15,000 based on what the government believes delivery costs should be.

* LOSS: The Senate voted to establish an inquiry into what role Attorney-General George Brandis played in the long-running Bell Group liquidation case and whether he instructed the solicitor-general to run the Commonwealth case dead to benefit the Liberal West Australian government.

* LOOMING LOSS: The September quarter growth figures are out next week with some economists predicting a negative result.

Related Articles

* SUPERGLUED PROTESTERS: Members of Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance forced the temporary shutdown of parliament's question time as some glued their hands to railings in the House of Reps public gallery. The 30-strong group labelled government MPs cowards for walking out of the chamber during their protest. Speaker Tony Smith suspended the session amid a chorus of shouts soon after question time started on Wednesday. They were back on Thursday - this time out the front of Parliament House.

* GEORGE BRANDIS: The attorney-general tested the patience of Labor and the Greens when he provided the Senate with a long and detailed response to claims he instructed the solicitor-general to run dead on the Bell Group liquidation case to benefit the Liberal West Australian government. The explanation didn't convince most non-government senators, who voted to establish an upper house inquiry into what's been labelled the WA Kickback Scandal.

* SUSAN KIEFEL: Malcolm Turnbull wasn't wrong when he described the Susan Kiefel story as one of inspiration. The next chief justice of the High Court left school at 15, worked as a legal secretary, studied at night to first complete her high school qualifications and then law through the Barristers Admission Board. Now, at 62, she's the most senior judge in the land and the first woman to lead the nation's highest court.

* DAVID LEYONHJELM: The Liberal Democrats senator let fly at South Australia, personifying its government as an obese 40-year-old man with awful body odour who lives with his mother. He refuses to work and plays Xbox all day, pausing only to demand more Cheezels, the NSW senator told parliament.

THE FINAL SAY

"Perhaps a more realistic goal (for 2017) is to vow to speak more plainly and with more candour to the Australian people. They are weary of the political games, the sense that politicians say one thing and could easily mean another, and that our promises are throw-away lines with a shelf life of a carton of milk." - Malcolm Turnbull tells parliament during his end-of-year address.

"For a country built on the ideal of a fair go, the stubborn persistent presence of inequality in our prosperous society is a national wrong. It is a challenge to us next year in this parliament, a challenge to use our parliament more intelligently to elevate politics. To make this a more pluralist, more democratic, more representative place, to include more people who are too often left out, ignored, dispossessed or forgotten." - Bill Shorten responds.

TWEETED

@Tony_Burke Triple J just opened the 6am news with "The final week of parliament, and rare monkeys found." This will clearly be quite a week.

@GChristensenMP I think they've been sniffing what they're protesting with too much.

ON THE HORIZON

* The nation's leaders gather in Canberra for a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on Friday December 9.